Casinos and other forms of gaming comprise a growing multi-billion dollar industry wherein floor space can be at a premium, such that newer and increasingly sophisticated games and machines are preferred over older and less sophisticated ones. As a general example, the casino and gaming industries have experienced a marked shift over the past few decades from the use of fully mechanical gaming machines to electronic and microprocessor based gaming machines. In a typical gaming machine, such as a video poker or slot machine, a game play is first initiated through a player wager of money or credit, whereupon the gaming machine determines a game outcome, presents the game outcome to the player and then potentially dispenses an award of some type, including a monetary award, depending on the game outcome. Although this process is generally true for both mechanical and electronic gaming machines, the electronic machines tend to be more popular with players and thus more lucrative for casinos for a number of reasons, such as increased game varieties, more attractive and dynamic video and audio presentations, and the ability to award larger jackpots.
Electronic and microprocessor based gaming machines typically include a number of hardware and software components to provide a wide variety of game types and game playing capabilities, with such hardware and software components being generally well known in the art. A typical electronic gaming machine comprises a central processing unit (CPU) or master gaming controller (MGC), which is usually located in a main cabinet of the gaming machine, and which typically controls various combinations of hardware and software components, devices and peripherals that encourage game play, allow a player to play a game on the gaming machine and control payouts and other awards. Software components can include, for example, boot and initialization routines, various game play programs and subroutines, credit and payout routines, image and audio generation programs, various component modules and a random number generator, among others.
Exemplary hardware devices can include various inputs that accept money and/or credits into the gaming machine, such as bill validators, coin acceptors, card readers and ticket acceptors, as well as user inputs to determine a wager amount and initiate game play, such as keypads, buttons, levers, touch screens and the like. Other common hardware devices include payout components such as coin hoppers and ticket printers, as well as player tracking units. In addition, any given gaming machine will typically have any number of audio and video display components that can include, for example, various speakers, visual display panels, belly and top glasses, exterior cabinet artwork, lights, top box dioramas, and cathode ray tubes, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), flat panels and/or other similar video displays for displaying game play and other assorted information. Many of these peripheral components and devices are built into a main cabinet of the gaming machine itself or into items closely associated with the gaming machine, such as a top box, which usually sits atop the main cabinet.
One way of attracting and retaining players with improved games and gaming machines is to present new and varying award schemes, such as larger jackpots or payouts or more winning combinations. A particular type of award scheme that is attractive to game players is a bonus scheme. In general, a bonus award to a player is one that is made above and beyond a normal award that may be received by playing a given game. For example, in the well known WHEEL OF FORTUNE® game manufactured by IGT of Reno, Nevada, a player plays a base game where the player is paid a reward or payout whenever the result is one of a predetermined number of winning outcomes. In addition, if a certain result is obtained while playing the base game, then the player is provided an opportunity to spin a bonus wheel and win a bonus payout, which is in addition to any reward or payout for receiving a winning result of the base game. Under such an arrangement, however, the ability to win a bonus is typically linked to a specific outcome of a game. In the event that the game does not result in a particular type of outcome, then the player cannot win a bonus. Such a limitation might result in a lessened appeal for some players.
Accordingly, there exists a desire for improved systems and methods for awarding bonuses associated with gaming machines, and in particular for such systems and methods to involve bonuses that are either not tied to specific game results or are otherwise varied over existing bonus schemes.